adj. 25B6; adjective
hard ground : FIRM, solid, rigid, stiff, resistant, unbreakable, inflexible, impenetrable, unyielding, solidified, hardened, compact, compacted, dense, close-packed, compressed; steely, tough, strong, stony, rock-like, flinty, as hard as iron, as hard as stone; frozen; poetic/literary adamantine.
hard physical work : ARDUOUS, strenuous, tiring, fatiguing, exhausting, wearying, back-breaking, gruelling, heavy, laborious; difficult, taxing, exacting, testing, challenging, demanding, punishing, tough, formidable, onerous, rigorous, uphill, Herculean; informal murderous, killing, hellish; Brit. informal knackering; formal exigent; archaic toilsome.
hard workers : DILIGENT, hard-working, industrious, sedulous, assiduous, conscientious, energetic, keen, enthusiastic, zealous, earnest, persevering, persistent, unflagging, untiring, indefatigable; studious.
a hard problem : DIFFICULT, puzzling, perplexing, baffling, bewildering, mystifying, knotty, thorny, problematic, complicated, complex, intricate, involved; insoluble, unfathomable, impenetrable, incomprehensible, unanswerable.
times are hard : HARSH, grim, difficult, bad, bleak, dire, tough, austere, unpleasant, uncomfortable, straitened, spartan; dark, distressing, painful, awful.
a hard taskmaster : STRICT, harsh, firm, severe, stern, tough, rigorous, demanding, exacting; callous, unkind, unsympathetic, cold, heartless, hard-hearted, unfeeling; intransigent, unbending, uncompromising, inflexible, implacable, stubborn, obdurate, unyielding, unrelenting, unsparing, grim, ruthless, merciless, pitiless, cruel; standing no nonsense, ruling with a rod of iron.
a hard winter : BITTERLY COLD, cold, bitter, harsh, severe, bleak, freezing, icy, icy-cold, arctic.
a hard blow : FORCEFUL, heavy, strong, sharp, smart, violent, powerful, vigorous, mighty, hefty, tremendous.
hard facts : RELIABLE, definite, true, confirmed, substantiated, undeniable, indisputable, unquestionable, verifiable.
hard liquor : ALCOHOLIC, strong, intoxicating, potent; formal spirituous.
hard drugs : ADDICTIVE, habit-forming; strong, harmful.
soft, easy lazy, gentle.
25B6; adverb
George pushed her hard : FORCEFULLY, forcibly, roughly, powerfully, strongly, heavily, sharply, vigorously, energetically, with all one's might, with might and main.
they worked hard : DILIGENTLY, industriously, assiduously, conscientiously, sedulously, busily, enthusiastically, energetically, doggedly, steadily; informal like mad, like crazy; Brit. informal like billy-o.
this prosperity has been hard won : WITH DIFFICULTY, with effort, after a struggle, painfully, laboriously.
her death hit him hard : SEVERELY, badly, acutely, deeply, keenly, seriously, profoundly, gravely; formal grievously.
it was raining hard : HEAVILY, strongly, in torrents, in sheets, cats and dogs; steadily.
my mother looked hard at me : CLOSELY, attentively, intently, critically, carefully, keenly, searchingly, earnestly, sharply.
25A0; hard and fast DEFINITE, fixed, set, strict, rigid, binding, clear-cut, cast-iron; inflexible, immutable, unchangeable, incontestable.
25A0; hard by CLOSE TO, right by, beside, near (to), nearby, not far from, a stone's throw from, on the doorstep of; informal within spitting distance of, {a hop, skip, and jump away from}.
25A0; hard feelings RESENTMENT, animosity, ill feeling, ill will, bitterness, bad blood, resentfulness, rancour, malice, acrimony, antagonism, antipathy, animus, friction, anger, hostility, hate, hatred.
25A0; hard up (informal) POOR, short of money, badly off, impoverished, impecunious, in reduced circumstances, unable to make ends meet; penniless, destitute, poverty-stricken; informal broke, strapped (for cash); Brit. informal skint.